Friday, May 6, 2016

Last week's excerpt got me to thinking about how I love to write romantic moonlit strolls on Cape Cod beaches. Sure enough, there's one in CRAZY ABOUT YOU... without the furry four-legged friend. Granted, this book has a dog in it as well, but Lucky doesn't play as huge a role in the story as Midget did in my first Wild Rose Press romance.

Where last Friday's moonlit scene ended up tangled in the sand, this one ends with the characters tangled in a murder... I felt I had to edit it a bit to keep it PG, but really it's not more than PG-13 in the actual book. Not this scene, at least...

EXCERPT:

After
dinner, they descended the stairs next to the wharf and walked along the sandy
stretch of low-tide beach running parallel to the commercial strip. The full moon
reflected off the Atlantic, sending rhythmic ripples of silver and gold washing
onto the shore. The dark pilings of the wharf loomed behind them, the low sounds
of laughter and voices drifting from the shadows.

“I
hope you don’t mind if we skip going to the club to meet your assistant. So
many people crammed into too small a space. This is nicer.” She smiled up at
him and his heart skipped a beat.

“Totally
fine with me.” He managed to control his voice, sounding normal even if his
erratic heartbeat wouldn’t listen to him. “I’m not much for the club scene
anyway. Makes me feel old.”

She
snorted. “You’re not old, Dr. Anderson. Merely intense.” Emma reached for his
hand, twining her fingers through his, giving them a squeeze. “I love to walk
on the beach after dinner, don’t you? Especially at low tide, like this, when
the beach stretches on and on and the sky is filled with a multitude of stars
shining down, little pinpricks in the blackness where the gods and angels can
watch over us. Or spy on us. Whichever. The possibilities seem endless on
nights like tonight.”

Several
of those possibilities raced through his mind, each scenario steamier than the
last. He clamped his mouth shut, stifling a groan. This wasn’t like him. He was
usually calm, cool, and collected. Since when did his daydreams all turn
pornographic?

Since you met Emma, the voice in his head reminded him.

He ran his thumb across her knuckles, feeling the tremor run
through her arm. “Tell me something about you. Something no one else knows.”

She
stared up at the night sky long enough to count each and every star. “When I
was born, my dad was out at sea, fishing. He promised he’d be home to take Mom to
the hospital in Hyannis, but couldn’t make it back to shore because of a storm.”

“So
what did she do?” Chase snaked his hand under the arm of her sweater, her skin
like silk sliding under his fingertips as he drew nonsensical lines along her
forearm.

“You
need to realize, the nearest hospital is an hour and a half from Provincetown.
It was fall, but still the end of tourist season, so things were busy. My mom had
to make promises to the woman who drove her there.”

“Promises?
Like pledging your firstborn?”

She
shook her head. “Almost worse. She let her choose my middle name.”

He
chuckled and slid his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “What did
she choose?” Despite the darkness, he saw her roll her eyes. “Come on, it can’t
be that bad.”

“My
mom was at her shop when her water broke. It was the tarot card reader next
door who drove her to Hyannis.”

“And
your middle name is…”

“Andromeda.”
She said it so softly he barely heard.

“Like
the constellation? Or the daughter of Cassiopeia?”

Emma
blew out a long breath. “I guess she meant the constellation, because she told
my mom the stars would bring Dad home. Sure enough, he showed up at the
hospital the very next morning. But I was already saddled with one heck of a
middle name.”

“I
like it.”

Her
voice came out as a whisper. “You do?”

He
nodded slowly. “I like you, too.” He bent his head to capture her mouth. She
leaned into him slightly, brushing his lips with her tongue, inviting him to explore
further. The kiss quickly deepened, her body pressed tight, urging him to take
more. Primal need seared through
his body. He found the bottom edge of her tank top and slipped underneath to
caress the silky heat of the bare skin at her waist. She shuddered and pulled
away from the kiss, nipping his bottom lip.

“Wow,”
she whispered, catching her breath. “Is this still part of that science
experiment of yours?” Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight, filled with wanting
but also uncertainty.

He
touched his forehead to hers and waited for his breathing to even out. “I think
we’ve officially ruled out any scientific anomaly. But there’s still plenty of
room for exploration.” He kissed her again, tasting the salt of the night air
on her lips, satisfying his hunger better than any seafood. She opened to him,
leaning into his kiss.

His world spun out of control as she clutched his shoulders
and held on until he needed to come up for air to stop the world from reeling.
He tucked her head under his chin and held her body against his, breathing in
her honey lemon scent with each panting breath, trying to steady himself. Hot
breath puffed against his chest, another small tremor running through her. “I
never planned for this,” he said.

“Do
you always have a plan?”

“Usually.”

“Kiss
me again.”

He
cradled her face with his hands and kissed her softly, running his tongue over
her lips, down her neck, kissing the soft spot at the base of her throat. She trembled
at his touch, moving her hands over the muscles in his back.

“You’re
driving me crazy,” she said in a breathless voice that sent even more blood
pounding to his groin. “But we should probably stop. I mean, we’re, um, still kind
of in public.”

His
lips brushed over her ear. “There’s no one near,” he whispered, unable to think
clearly.

“Chase,
please.” Her breathy whisper sent another jolt to his groin. “Let’s leave the
beach. Now.” He nodded, his logical brain kicking into gear to estimate the
quickest route back to his motel room. He captured her mouth for one more kiss,
tamping down on his haze of need while he wondered whether to flag a taxi or
one of those pedicabs.

A
scream from somewhere nearby pierced the night air. He tore his mouth from
hers, looking toward the source of the noise. Shouts followed, along with the sounds
of feet pounding on the wooden staircase and along the boardwalk. Streams of
shadows swirled above and below the pier, bodies scurrying through the darkness
while the screams went on and on.

She
cocked her head. “Someone needs help. Either come with me, or let me go.”

Reluctantly he followed her lead, unwilling to release his grasp on her hand. The
evening’s “endless possibilities” quickly dissolved from fantasy into
nightmare. Drawing closer to the shadowy pillars of the wharf, Chase saw the
dark shape sprawled on the sand before Emma did. The screams subsided, but a
handful of people remained near the body, phones snapping away at the scene, flashes
of light punctuating the grim darkness. At his side, Emma gasped. “Oh. My. God.
Is that…?”

Police
sirens blared from street level, cutting off her words. Red and white lights
flashed, uniformed officers swarmed onto the beach, illuminating the shadows
with searchlights and stopping anyone from leaving the scene. One of the
beacons caught Emma and Chase in its glare along with several other onlookers.

“All
of you over there,” shouted a gruff voice over a bullhorn. “Stay where you are.”

****

Find out what happens next (and what I deleted...) by grabbing a copy on AMAZON.

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I'm an author, editor, magazine columnist, wife, and mother to three kids and two big dogs... not necessarily in that same order each day. I try to write every day and read a book a week, but life often gets in the way.

I write romance and adventure for young adults and the young at heart, and living next to the Atlantic Ocean influences everything I write...